HiSET: Language Arts - Writing : Capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Capitalization, Punctuation, And Spelling
Jimmy is annoyed at the video game that he was playing. For one thing, there was not nearly enough interesting characters suspenseful moments or exciting escapes in the game to satisfy him. For another, it was incredibly hard while playing the game to control the cars. It always wanted to veer to the left when he tried to steer to the right. But the ending of the game was worst. By the time he got to the end, the hero had decided to stop chasing rogue spies and therefore marry his girlfriend, a surprise attack resulted in her being kidnapped, and the hero must go on a final mission to save her before the game can be completed. That would of been fine, except it involved tracking the enemy using a helicopter, and Jimmy much to his chagrin never mastered flying the helicopter.
Choose the option that best corrects the bolded and underlined section of the text.
(no change)
interesting characters, suspenseful moments, or exciting escapes
interesting characters, suspenseful moments, or exciting escapes,
interesting characters suspenseful moments plot twists, or exciting escapes
interesting characters, suspenseful moments, or exciting escapes
Commas are needed to separate each of the items in a list. While some outmoded grammar guides suggest omitting the comma before "and" or "or" in a series of three objects, the more common practice is to include it, so the phrase should read "suspenseful moments, plot twists, or exciting escapes." This particular comma is called the Oxford comma, and is used to avoid ambiguity in certain sentences.
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